For the past two months archaeologists have been digging in North Parramatta, the site of former institutional care facilities.

In the early 19th century female convicts were housed in the female factory.

The site was then expanded to include a mental asylum and an orphanage.

Senior archaeologist Rhian Jones said it was one of the first times the area had been explored in this way.

"We've got toothbrushes, hair combs, beads, bits of jewellery, so we're not sure if they're the matron or the people who are officially allowed to wear those kinds of decorative items or whether the girls from the industrial school period have access to them," she said.

"Hopefully some of the items relate to some of the orphans."

Ms Jones hopes to uncover information about the lives of girls and women who lived in the institutions.

"There's a lot of historical records about the store room and what is the government providing, and types of cooking implements and clothes the orphans, and then later the girls, from the Industrial School were provided with," she said.

"But that doesn't give that unofficial record of how they're spending their time or any of the other activities, the unofficial activities that they're doing in these spaces."

Evidence of coexistence

Also among the discoveries are a number of small pieces of glass.

Archaeologist Jillian Comber said it possibly dated back to 1788 and was evidence of the relationship between Aboriginal people and European settlers.

She said the Aboriginal people adapted the glass to be used for cutting or carving.